Representing Interests in the European Union (European Union Series)

This book provides the first comprehensive assessment of the role and importance of interest groups in the development and policy of the European Union. Covering professional, consumer and social interests as well as business, labour and general issues of regulation, it presents a very wide range of information and data including the results of original research by the author. The Political System of the European Union sets out a new way of analyzing, researching and teaching the EU. This approach starts from the recognition that the EU possesses all the attributes of a modern "political system." The book subsequently argues that we should use general theories and methods in political science to understand how the EU works. For each of the main processes in the EU political system, the book introduces the key political science tools, applies these in a detailed description of the workings of the EU, and compares the results to the latest theoretical and empirical research on the EU. Front Matter....Pages i-xx Introduction....Pages 1-26 EU Decision-Making and Channels of Influence....Pages 27-56 The Nature and Resources of Groups....Pages 57-79 The Regulation of Interest Representation....Pages 80-100 Business Interests....Pages 101-132 Professional Interests....Pages 133-154 Labour Interests....Pages 155-176 Public Interests....Pages 177-217 Territorial Interests....Pages 218-241 Conclusions: Interests and European Integration....Pages 242-270 Back Matter....Pages 271-292 Renaud Dehousse ; Foreword By William E. Paterson. Part Of This Book Was First Published In French In 1994 By Montchrestien As La Cour De Justice Des Communautʹes Europʹeennes -t.p. Verso. --text Expanded In French. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 195-201) And Index. Translated From The French. Greenwood provides a comprehensive assessment of the role and importance of interest groups in the development and policy of the European Union. He covers professional, consumer and social interests as well as business, labour and regulation issues Rather than focusing on a single area of the EU, or on detailed coverage of its institutions or policies, McCormick's new book introduces all aspects of European integration, combining a clear and thematic narrative with essential facts and figures The EU is presented in this textbook as an emerging political system, in which the government, policies and the politics of the system are inextricably linked